Can You Join the Amish?

Most people look at the Amish like they’re living in a museum—horses, buggies, and butter churns. But here’s the truth nobody says out loud: the Amish aren’t stuck in the past. They’re free. No bills, no credit scores, no endless chains to the grid or Wall Street. And that freedom is exactly why you’re asking the question: can you join them?

The short answer: yes – but not the way you think.

Joining the Amish isn’t like signing up for a gym membership. You don’t walk in with a smile and walk out with a buggy. The Amish are selective. They’re protective. Why? Because their survival depends on unity, tradition, and an iron wall between themselves and the collapsing chaos of modern life.

The Amish Advantage

When the grid fails, most people panic. But the Amish? They keep milking cows, baking bread, and lighting oil lamps like nothing happened. Their entire system is designed around powerless tools, local resources, and community resilience.

They’ve insulated themselves against collapse in a way that modern society can’t even imagine. While the average household has three days of food and zero backup energy, the Amish have pantries lined with jars, barns stacked with wood, and entire families trained in hard skills from birth. Collapse doesn’t frighten them—it validates them.

And here’s the kicker: this isn’t theory. Hurricanes, blackouts, pandemics—the Amish barely register these events. Why? Because they never outsourced survival in the first place. They live like the system has already failed. That’s not nostalgia—it’s foresight.

Amish Life vs. Modern Life

Category	Amish Life	Modern Life
Power	No grid, oil lamps, woodstoves, solar where permitted	100% dependent on fragile electrical grids
Food	Homegrown, preserved, fermented, smoked, stored in root cellars	Store-bought, refrigerated, expires quickly without power
Water	Wells, rainwater collection, hand pumps	Tap water reliant on municipal pumps and treatment plants
Medicine	Herbal remedies, community healers, natural treatments	Pharmacies, hospitals, prescriptions—fragile supply chains
Transportation	Horses, buggies, walking, community-based logistics	Cars, trucks, highways—dependent on fuel and infrastructure
Community	Tight-knit, everyone trained in survival skills, collective resilience	Isolated households, skills outsourced to systems and industries
Economy	Barter, small-scale trade, craftsmanship, self-reliance	Debt-based, globalized, fragile supply chains
Mindset	Discipline, simplicity, survival through unity	Convenience, consumerism, survival outsourced to government/systems

What It Takes to Join

So, can you just pack a bag, show up in Lancaster County, and say, “Hey, I’m Amish now”? Not exactly. Joining is possible, but it’s not a weekend experiment.

To be accepted, you’d have to:

Abandon modern technology. No phone, no power tools, no Netflix “cheat nights.”
Commit to faith. Amish identity is tied to religion. Without it, you’re a visitor, not family.
Master survival skills. Farming, cooking without electricity, food preservation, woodworking. Skills that take years, not days.

And even then, the community would watch you closely. They don’t need tourists. They don’t need weekend warriors. They need people who can pull their weight in a world without shortcuts. Imagine you—no phone, no internet, no “quick trip” to the store. Could you handle that without breaking?

For most outsiders, the hardest part isn’t physical—it’s mental. The Amish worldview is built around submission to the community, discipline, and simplicity. No “individual freedom” in the modern sense. No chasing careers, no social media, no credit cards. Just faith, family, and survival. To join, you’d have to kill the ego modern life taught you to worship.

Lessons You Can Apply Without Joining

Here’s the reality: most people won’t join the Amish, but you don’t have to wear a straw hat to learn from them. Their way of life is a survival manual hiding in plain sight.

Root Cellars → Store food without electricity.
Oil Lamps → Light that never depends on the grid.
Fermentation & Canning → Keep food safe for months or years.
Herbal Remedies → Medicine when pharmacies are empty.
Community Strength → A network that replaces the broken promises of government relief.

Start small. Swap one fragile system in your life for something resilient. Build a root cellar. Store water without relying on pumps. Learn to cook over fire instead of gas. The more systems you can operate without the grid, the closer you get to the Amish advantage—without ever stepping into their church.

And here’s the kicker: you don’t have to figure all of this out on your own. If building a root cellar or fermenting food sounds overwhelming, you can shortcut the learning curve through the Amish Ways Academy. It’s designed for people who can’t realistically join the Amish community but still want the same survival backbone—food, medicine, and tools that work without plugs.

How to Actually Join the Amish

Now, let’s cut through the noise. How do you actually join the Amish?

First, you’d have to make contact. That means showing up, working alongside them, and proving you’re serious. Some outsiders do this by volunteering or working for Amish businesses. It’s a test, whether they admit it or not. They’re watching if you can handle the pace, the simplicity, and the discipline.

Second, you’d need to study and accept their faith. Amish life isn’t a hobby—it’s built on religion. Baptism is the key step. Without it, you’re always “English,” no matter how many buttons you swap for hooks. If you can’t commit to their church, you can’t commit to their community.

Third, comes Ordnung—the Amish rules. These aren’t suggestions. They cover everything from clothing to technology to daily behavior. Break them, and you’ll never be fully accepted. And make no mistake, they’re strict because they have to be. The rules aren’t about control—they’re about survival through uniformity.

And even after all this, it’s not guaranteed. The Amish may let you in, or they may politely shut you out. It’s their right. Their independence is built on protecting the community first, outsiders second. But here’s the truth most won’t say: even trying to join will teach you more about resilience than a lifetime of scrolling prepper forums.

Can’t Join the Amish? Do This Instead.

Let’s be real—not everyone can move to Pennsylvania, trade their car for a buggy, and live without a single plug. Geography, family, and the sheer toughness of the Amish lifestyle keeps most outsiders from ever fully joining.

But here’s the good news: you don’t have to become Amish to learn what keeps them independent. That’s where the Amish Ways Academy comes in. It’s a step-by-step program that teaches the exact skills the Amish rely on every single day—food preservation, herbal medicine, powerless tools, off-grid cooking, and more.

If you can’t uproot your life or you just want to build resilience where you are, the Academy is your bridge. You’ll get the core knowledge without leaving your home, so when the grid collapses, you’ve already got the Amish advantage on your side.

Check it out here: Amish Ways Academy

The Real Question

So the real question isn’t just can you join the Amish—it’s should you live more like them, before you’re forced to? Because when the system buckles, the Amish won’t notice. But your neighbors will be fighting over bottled water and battery packs.

You don’t need to trade your truck for a buggy tomorrow. But you do need to start building the same independence they’ve guarded for centuries. Powerless tools. Low-tech solutions. Community over chaos. That’s how you take the Amish advantage without ever stepping foot in Lancaster.

You may also like: